Colin's Cool New Crib

For a recent school auction, I donated some time to help reinvent a student’s bedroom. Along with the design consult, the auction package also included a muralist, a seamstress and paint and painting services. Colin, a rising sixth grader, was the lucky winner of these services, thanks to his parents’ winning bid. 

Like many boys his age, upon meeting with Colin, it was clear that his passion is sports. He loves baseball and basketball. On the color spectrum, his preferences lean toward light blues and reds. To that end, his parents recently splurged on a bedroom set for Colin which includes a bed with storage underneath, a desk, a nightstand, and a bookshelf. In addition, Colin’s mom was ready to pull the trigger on a closet organization system. We recommended the Elfa system at the Container Store for some customized storage for sports jerseys and aging Pokemon card collections.

Here are a few before pics of Colin’s room …

.

Colin’s room was ripe for a transformation of impending teenage proportions. The challenge for me was to use the resources won in the auction to give Colin a new room that will grow with him over the next several years. Remember those teenage glory years when the priorities were study, sleep, and socialize? Although perhaps not always quite in that order!  The goal is to infuse that combination with some style so that this room renovation will transport Colin through the exciting years ahead.

1. When we chatted with Colin about his style preferences, he said his favorite colors are blue and red, and he’d love a sports themed room. As a Denver native, Colin’s a fan of the Colorado Rockies and Denver Nuggets, but he also likes the NY Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. When it came to making a color selection, we gave Colin the paint fan deck, a temptation most kids can’t refuse! His pick was “Chicago Blues” (BM #804) which is a gorgeous deep saturated blue, but we feared it was a bit too deep, so much so that his new blue furniture might disappear. So we’re recommending that Colin head north on the fan deck two stops to land in another famous sports town, “San Francisco Bay” (BM #802), for a rich medium blue that will provide good contrast to the deep blue in the furniture. We also aim to amp up the cool factor in the room by adding some metal pieces to our traditional red and blue color palette. Read on to find out how.

2. What do you get when you put boys and their smelly sports equipment together? Lockers! That’s right! These locker style storage bins will help to organize the goods and stash the clutter on Colin’s bookshelves. We suggest at least 3 or 4 of these sturdy bins for Colin to use as he likes so that his space doesn’t end up looking like a locker room.

3.  One of the biggest challenges in kids’ room renovations is making choices that will grow with them. You have to make decisions about what is an easy item to change if it’s outgrown, and what’s more complicated. Choosing affordable bedding to sport one of Colin’s favorite team logos is a guilt-free option just in case he may be rooting for another team or even exploring a new past time a few years down the road.

4.  When Colin needs some inspiration for that first line to his latest essay, this mini basketball hoop is a slam-dunk for inspiration. We love its authentic look and his parents will appreciate the easy-on-the-walls basketballs that come with it.

5.  As his homework load increases, (sorry buddy, but it’s true), Colin will need more storage in his dedicated study digs. We dig this galvanized storage shelf because the chalkboard labels suit the ever changing moods, plans, needs of a tween/teen. It could hang out above his desk making use of the vertical space on his walls for stashing study essentials and displaying few trophies to boot.

6. One of the generous contributors to Colin’s room reinvention is a seamstress who offered to make pillows and a valance. We found thispreppy madras fabric which will complement the colors in the Yankees bedding nicely and soften up the window in a tailored manly way.

7. Colin’s room has a neutral wall to wall carpet, so we thought a layer of stripes underfoot would bring some additional color and pattern to the room. To keep the rug from slipping around, a rug pad designed for rug over carpet use is essential.

8. This chrome desk lamp will give Colin lots of bright ideas when he hits the books.

9. Another organizational essential, this magnetic bulletin board works with tacks and magnets to post game schedules, photos, homework assignments and Colin’s special mementos. Hanging it over the desk and under the galvanized steel cubbies would be a slam dunk.

10. This bedside lamp with its unassuming style should suit Colin for light years.

11. Colin’s bedroom set is fantastic, but in a small space, the pieces don’t look that interesting when they’re lined up on the wall. We like this affordable round steel nightstand for Colin to use, replacing his current nightstand. The round shape and steel finish give some contrast to the other blue furniture elements. The lower shelf gives him some storage for his stack of summer reading books.

Our last element is how best to use the talents of the muralist’s services. We want to honor Colin’s request for sports, but also consider the teen, fun, cool factor. So we’re recommending that the muralist paint one entire wall like the floor of a basketball court. There are lots of images to use for inspiration.

Colin, I hope you like your room reinvention, and like all the accomplished athletes out there, don’t forget to thank Mom and Dad in your acceptance speech. Can’t wait to see the “after” pics!

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

Susie's pretty and pleasant parlor

Susie needed help with making over her living room which no one ever really uses in her house. Here is Susie’s letter and her “before” pictures:

Dear Lisa,

I’d LOVE some help with my living room. This is probably the least used room in our house. We mainly use it for holidays or for when I host Bunco or book club. Sometimes the kids or I will read in the green chair. I really like the loveseat and the yellow floral table. For new items, I’d like some new window treatments, but the room gets pretty dark, which is why I went with such a light color on the walls. I’d love some new accessories and stuff for the walls. For style, I really like French Country with some cottage style mixed in.  I like florals and lean more toward traditional taste. I think this room is considered more formal because it is connected to the dining room, but I don’t know that it has to feel that way. My dining room has a few nice pieces and nice drapes but the table is still casual and overall it doesn’t feel super elegant, which is fine.  My life isn’t really like that—my kids are messy, they can’t remember to take off their shoes, my dog sheds everywhere and chews things under the dining room table!!!  Fancy doesn’t really go with me these days, and I’m good with that. I would like the room to feel comfortable, pretty and pleasant. Thanks for your help.  Susie

Susie, sister, we hear you about the messy kids and shedding dogs, and we love your honesty. Sounds like a dose of real life to us! You need a relaxing space for yourself to unwind that doubles as a grown up space where you can entertain friends. The good news is you’re already well on your way to creating that. So here are just a few final touches to pull this room together, making it the pretty and pleasant parlor a busy mom like you deserves. Read on for Susie’s mood board and it’s break down.

1. Rarely do we not suggest paint for a Room Reinvention, but the pale yellow on Susie’s living room walls works well and looks fresh, so we are going to maintain her current palette of pale yellow, rose pink and sage green. These colors are lovely together and tie into the palette she has working so nicely in her adjoining dining room.

2.  One of Susie’s favorite pieces in her living room is the loveseat, and we agree. It has a great combination of color and pattern. We think Susie should hang this gorgeous mirror with a ribbon motif centered above the loveseat. Curvaceous and elegant, this golden beauty will fit right in with Susie and her stylish girlfriends.

3. Susie wants to allow for natural light in her living room, and we’re on board with that. She can frame and soften the three windows with these classic and feminine window treatments which will still allow for lots of light to filter in. The moire check brings a subtle and fresh pattern into the room and is in keeping with our color palette. To top off the window treatments, Susie can select the balloon fringed valance for a more billowy look (as featured on the moodboard), or she can opt for the lined and layered valance (shown here) in rose with green buttons for a more tailored look.

4. We love this tall statuesque bookcase as a place for Susie to display framed family photos, treasured heirlooms, books and accessories. It will look perfect on the right side of the loveseat and provide height and balance to that side of the room. With the loveseat now framed by the newly dressed up window on the left, the bookcase on the right and the mirror above, it will get the attention it deserves. Susie, if you need help arranging your goods on the bookshelf, read our post on that very topic right here.

5. This affordable pair of framed fern prints would look lovely hung between the two windows on the wall opposite the dining room. Their green color and botanical subject matter are a perfect complement to the florals and colors Susie already has working in this room.

6. Susie confessed that her current coffee table is a family heirloom (or is it a hairloom?) that she is ready to replace. We love how this oval coffee table works with the other wood finishes in the room. We also love the free shipping and price point on this baby. It’s solid stature is sure to withstand the roll of some Bunco dice.

7. This green vase made of recycled glass doubles as a candleholder. It is sandblasted with flowers and vines, so it complements our botanical mood perfectly and will look lovely on Susie’s new bookshelf or filled with flowers on her new coffee table.

8. It is our strong belief that every queen of the castle needs her throne, and this bergere chair suits Susie’s French Country parlor perfectly. It’s a cozy, elegant and comfortable way to bring more seating into the room. We recommend the walnut finish in the Abramo Tan pattern for it’s subtle, textured look. We’ll be the first to admit that this chair is a splurge, but we’re still frugal girls at heart, so we found a WAY less expensive version of this type of chair here. (Susie, if you can live with the fabric option available on this cheaper one, we say buy two!)

This is a great time to mention furniture placement and how to best use Susie’s existing pieces. As we mentioned above, with the new bookcase to the right of the loveseat, we suggest moving the round wood table to the left of the loveseat placing it in front of the window. (The trunk currently in this corner should find a home somewhere else in the house. It’s super cool looking, but doesn’t seem to work in this space.) Bring the table lamp (currently on the floral painted table) over and place it on the round wood table.  The floor lamp can stay to the right of the loveseat positioned about a foot out from the wall. We like the cozy reading nook Susie has created for herself (and her kids) in the corner. We suggest pulling the chair and ottoman out of that corner just a bit so it looks comfortably placed in front of the new curtains on the left window. If she can spare it, we think Susie should steal the lamp from the pretty desk in her dining room and use it as a reading lamp on the floral table. The floral table should stay put, centered between the two windows. Susie can pull out the ottoman from the reading chair and use it for extra seating when she’s having friends over.

9. These 20″ square silk Dupioni decorative pillows are a STEAL and will provide the final luxurious touch for Susie’s parlor. The solids in cranberry, sage and chablis will complement the loveseat throw pillows nicely. Susie can mix up the pillows on her loveseat, new chair and reading chair to bring the color and patterns throughout the room.

Susie, we sure do hope you are pretty pleased with your pretty new parlor. Nothing in there is too precious, so it’s still family friendly, but it finishes off the classy look you’ve started in your dining room.